Life Goes On
by rimiburt
Summary: Noncest!RinxLen - "She squeezes her eyes shut, but, although she doesn't realize it, she's smiling." ;; HBD Ham!


__For: Ham__

_Pairing: RinxLen Noncest_

_Thank you: Kerii_

_I haven't written anything in a while, so I'm sorry if this isn't very good. I was a bit rushed because I wanted to get it in on your actual date and I have to go to bed in five seconds or my mom's going to throw a tantrum, haha._

_Anyway, onwards!_

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><p>The sky is pink, and the sun is beginning to descend. The port sits quietly, the boats bobbing up and down in the clear, reflecting lake water. The harbor is isolated, except for two young teenagers standing across the edge of the boardwalk with their hands intertwined. They look almost like twins, with the same blond hair hair and blue eyes, but from the way they act in each others' presence, you can tell they're nothing of the sort.<p>

The girl glances at the boy and he gives her a toothy grin. Her lips curl into a smile and she laughs, reaching behind her head to undo her long ponytail. But before her hair can spill over her shoulders, he has taken her hand and started to run. She gasps as he drags her along, her hair tie slipping from her fingers.

The girl doesn't even have the chance to cry out the boy's name before they're in the air with gravity's invisible hands pulling them down, towards the sparkling pink. She squeezes her eyes shut, but, although she doesn't realize it, she's smiling.

_Splash!_

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><p>It's their last year of high school. The workload is difficult, but when they work together, everything goes by faster. Sports after school, and then they meet to go home together.<p>

But today, Rin can't get herself to go to the meeting spot.

They had talked about college, her friends had. It was a common topic, and Rin often spoke cheerfully with them. Today, however, it was a little different. Everyone had received their acceptance letters. They weren't only talking about their own careers anymore; they were comparing the distance between their colleges. And their boyfriends' colleges.

Kaito is going to the same school as Miku, Gakupo is attending a school an hour away from Luka's, and Piko is going to an acting school three hours away from Miki's art school.

Len is going an hour away from the city. And Rin... she remembers the excitement she felt yesterday when she got the mail. When she opened and saw she made it into that university famous for its music program. She had been so excited, babbling on and on to Len on the phone about it... but now...

It's on the other side of the country.

Rin can't breathe. She doesn't want to see Len right now, or she feels like she'll explode into a fit of tears and doubt. She can't let herself deny this school.

So Rin doesn't meet Len after school. She turns around, walks straight home, and doesn't answer a single phone call for the rest of the week.

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><p>His room is plain compared to hers. The entire room has a light blue color scheme: the walls are blue, his blankets are blue, and his lamps are blue. He has a bed placed in the far right corner, a desk in the middle so that if you glance up while working you look out the window, and a bookshelf to the left of where she is standing at the door. There are posters covering the spaces that would be empty otherwise.<p>

He's lying on his side on his bed, a book in front of him.

"Len."

She drops her backpack and it makes a small _thud_ on the floor. The boy looks up at her, and then his eyes widen. He quickly closes his book and sits up.

"Uh, Rin. What… what are you doing here?"

"To do homework together, what else?" she answers, though her voice cracks a little. Len examines her suspiciously in silence for a moment, the way she's staring at the floor with her bangs awkwardly covering her eyes because she's taken out her pins. She never takes out her pins unless she knows she's going to cry. His breath catches, and he stands up.

"Rin, are you okay?" he asks, walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

His actions seem to bring her to the edge, and suddenly her entire body does a small jump as a sob escapes from her lips. Len doesn't seem fazed by this, he instantly pulls her into a hug.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammers, her voice quivering. "I w-was worrying about college and th-then I realized that we're p-pursuing different careers and w-we won't go the same... college and s-so I avoided you for a while a-and then I got p-paranoid that you w-were mad a-and I don't know I'm just r-really stupid and I-I should know better th-than to think th-that and L-Len I-"

"Ssssh."

"N-No, I seriously-"

"Rin."

She stops, but her chest is still heaving and he can hear her sniffles.

"You don't need to apologize, I already knew."

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><p>It seems like only yesterday that they threw their hats into the air and cheered, but Len doesn't feel a hint of the blissfulness from that day. The train's wheels squeal as the vehicle comes to a stop, and his heart drops to his stomach. The girl who stands before him has her eyes closed lightly. He waits for her to do something - wondering whether she'll lift her eyelids before she turns around or after. They had discussed this before, already said their goodbyes many, many times... this will be quick, not painful. They'll stay in touch, it's a goodbye that never happened, so it doesn't have to hurt. But, still, the pain is clear in both lovers.<p>

"Bye, Len," Rin pushes out and she turns around. She couldn't look at him before leaving, or else she would cry. Len knew that. But it wasn't fair. Her eyes. He wanted to see her eyes again.

_No, wait_, he cries in his mind, his arms yearning to hold her for one last time.

They discussed this, though. None of that. Quick and easy.

He notices her steps are hesitant, the crowd is clearing up and soon she will be inside. Gone.

_No, wait_, he cries in his mind, his legs yearning to sprint towards her for one last time.

They discussed this, though. None of that. Quick and easy.

His legs are frozen, anyway. The adrenaline from his heartbeat isn't reaching his limbs; it's being held back by his reasoning. He's always been a logical guy. Good control of himself.

_But, no, wait_, he cries in his mind, his lips yearning to kiss her for one last time.

They discussed this, though. None of that. Quick and easy.

She's going to enter.

She's going to enter.

She's going to enter.

She's going to-

Her left foot steps onto the train and suddenly Len feels himself propelling forward.

_No, wait, wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait -!_

Rin doesn't even turn around as the doors close and the train cranks itself forward again.

* * *

><p>The sky is pink, and the sun is beginning to descend. The port sits quietly, the boats bobbing up and down in the clear, reflecting lake water. The harbor is isolated, except for one man crouched at the edge of the port. He looks tired, worn out, but his eyes are smiling. His sweeps his hand through the water once, twice. It's still that same freezing temperature that it was twenty years back. He remembers the shivering and shaking afterwards, the way they sprinted back to his house to change and take warm showers. He remembers the way she slapped him upside the head furiously, but couldn't hold back her smile when he gave her a lopsided grin... or whatever she used to call it.<p>

It was so long ago, but the memory had stuck to him for some reason.

He hasn't seen her in twenty years. They haven't spoken in ten years. Somewhere along the way, it just stopped. He'd forgotten about her until today, and she probably doesn't remember him either. He's just a little speck in her adolescent past.

He remembers how in love they were, and the gallons and gallons of tears they sobbed in the weeks before and after her leave.

It seems like a waste, almost. For everything have just ended. It was supposed to go on forever.

But, he knows it wasn't. The memories, the experiences, and the lessons taught had all shaped him as a person.

And life goes on.

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><p><em>Message for Ham (I hope it's not weird to leave one here?): Hey Ham - It's been a while since we've really spoken, but you've crossed my mind a lot in the past few months. In positive ways. So first of all, I want to say that I'm not really sure where I was going with the ending of this story, but the whole idea of "moving on" used to scare me like crazy. I still can't move on, and I admire you so much because of how strong you are, that you can. Watching you push forward and give your all has inspired me a lot, honestly. There have been so many times that things have happened and I think back to that time we had that argument and go "Wow. Ham is always one step ahead of me." I honestly want to apologize for my immaturity at that time, but we'll save that for another day. Basically, Ham, you are a fantastic person and I love you a lot! I love the way you work hard and I love how mature yet adorable you are. Keep being yourself! I hope you had an amazing birthday!<em> _Love, 'trealizeit'sme._

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><p><em>And that's it! Sorry for how cliche this was. Thanks for reading, guys.<em>


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